Screw cap remover



March 18, 1952 A. MCD. HESS 2,589,693 SCREW CAP REMOVER Filed Feb. 11, 948

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INVENTQR Patented Mar. 18, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,589,693 p scanw CAP Remover: Alexander McD. Hess -Jamaica, N. Application February 11, 1948, Serial No. "7,591

The present invention relates to'a domestic or restaurant kitchen appliance for tightening or loosening threaded and screw caps of'glass and ceramic -jars,sucli as are employed for packing Jcondiments, preserves, pickles, and the like.

The invention consists, briefly,'of a tapered,

I caplike structure, adapted to be heldin ones hand, which may: be securely engaged with the caps of jars, and by manual manipulation be employ'ed totlighte'n or loosen such caps.

An object of the invention is to provide means for facilitating the opening by unscrewing the screw tops bijjars which hav become stuck due to mechanical resistanceor from corrosion of the tops which-usually are of metal or alloy composition. V

Another object of theinvention is to provide 'ine'an's'ffor tightening screw caps when packing jars so as t'oeilect a seal.

These and other novel features of the inven- 't'idn will be better understood from the following detaileddescription and the accompanying drawing "showing preferred embodiments of the invention in which:

Fig. 1 is a view of an integrally cast appliance taken on line ll of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1 showing in dotted lines how the appliance may be applied to the cap of a jar;

Fig. 3 is a .view taken on line 33 of Fig. 4 of another embodiment of the invention having removable contact elements;

Fig. 4 is a view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3; V

Fig. 5 is'a view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 6 of another embodiment of the inventionhaving a single removable contact element;

Fig. 6 is a view taken on line 55 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 7 is a view taken on line 'l--| of Fig 8 of another embodiment of the invention which is stamped from a sheet; I

Fig. 8 is a view taken on line 8--8 of Fig. 7

Fig. 9 is 'ayiew taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 7.

Referring to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 of the drawing 3 Claims. (0!. 81: 3.4)

casting any suitable matei'ial mus angs-true tum-shaped or'tapered piece ll having'fe rterior radially projecting this 12, I3, l4, and I5 and having removable interior radially projecting elements lfi, 11,; l8,'a nd up which' fit'slldably and seciirelyinto slots provided inthe interior wall or th'epiece ll. i V i A V Referring to Fig; 5 and Fig.6 of the drawin illustrating another embodiment of m ih'v'el'ltidll. the appliance is formed by stamping, moldingor casting any suitable material into a single section 3 l {formed in the shape of a rrjusmm of a cone or tapered, and which is provided intericrly with an annular slot. The section 3! is further provided with} exterior radially projecting fins32, 33, 34, and 135. A circular member formed by "stampin ,jmolding, or castinga relatively tough plastic illustrating one embodiment of my invention, the

appliance is formed by stamping, molding, or casting a relatively tough plastic rubber, synthetic material, or metal into a single frustum-shaped or tapered piece! having an oval-shaped top and exterior radially projecting fins 2, 3, 4, and 5 and interior radially projecting fins 6, 1, 8, and 9, or whose interior may simply be of a'tapered, rough surface.

Referring to Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 of the drawing illustratingganother embodiment of my invention, the appliance is formed by stamping, molding, or

rubber or synthetic material is adaptedto fitii'nto the interior annular recess in the member 3|".

Referring to Fig. 7, Fig. 8, and Fig.9 cf'the drawing illustrating another-embodiment of my invention, the appliance is formed in a single piece 4 l by stamping, molding or casting "any suitable sheet metalor synthetic in the form are frustum of a cone or tapered, which is provided exteriorly with radially projecting fins 42 between which slots are punched in and the edges 43 are turned inwardly to form contact members with which to engage jar caps.

In the use of the appliance, which may be of such size that it is adapted to fit the different sizes of {jar caps ordinarily encountered in the average kitchen, the upper portion of the frustum or tapered member, whose top is oval, is fitted into the jpalm of ones hand so that the fingers may clasp around it comfortably in such a manner that: the fingers maybe brought to bear against the'exterior radially projecting fins when an effont; is made to turn the appliance about the frustums axis.

The appliance may then be applied to a cap inflhe general manner illustrated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2 and suificient force be exerted downwardly by pressing or .bumping it so as to securely engage the appliance with the cap. When the engagement between the appliance and the cap is secure, the appliance and the cap may befturned in either direction, i. e., right or left about the frustums axis until the cap is sufiiciently. 1 oosened or tightened, whichever is desired.

ghe embodiments illustrated in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2,- a-nd Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 are specially adapted to tighten caps on fresh packs. The embodiment illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 while suitable for the sage purposes in general as that illustrated in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, has the added advantage, however, of containing the removable contact element 36 which may be renewed when it becomes worn.

The embodiments illustrated in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, and Fig. 7, Fig. 8, and Fig. 9 are adapted for use on caps which are particularly difiicult to tighten satisfactorily or to loosen, especially the latter, e. g., when a cap is corroded and struck. The elements l6)", l8, and [9, which for apparent reasons are of triangular cross section, may

be of metal or alloy so that when the appliance H is brought into use, a sufiicien'tpressure or a sharp cause the -ele ments to bite into the cap to which it is applied" tap or bump may be exerted to and thus secure the engagement of the appliance when exerting a great turning force thereto.

- 2, An appliance for loosening and tightening Moreover, the elements [6, 11,. I8, and' is may" be rotated as one edge and another becomeworn 'i and eventually turned end for end, thus insuring along'life for the elements.--

- "The embodiment illustrated in Fig. II, Fig. 8-, andFig= Q'in general is particularly adapted for loosening caps which have become corroded and stuck. It may be stamped from a steel plate so that the "sharp edges 43- may be projected inwardly for contact with a cap.

;1.-:By" proper-pressure or asharp tap or bump when employing either of the embodiments of Fig. 3 andFig. 4, or Fig. 7, Fig.8, and Fig.-- 9, thecontact elements 16, H, [-8, and- -l9, o r- 43 will be caused to bite-into the upper 'edge of a cap and at the same time loosen by spreading the vertical .wall of the cap whereafter a partial turn will completely disengage the cap so that it may be com- A pletely andreadily removed. -W h-ile the appliance has been illustrated with {our contact elements andwithfour outward fins,

it will berecognized that any suitableunumber maybe employed.

Moreover, While the interiors of the appliance are shown tapered and as following straight lines,

. it is also to be recognized that the interior walls may ,-descr-ibeconcave or convex lines, it such are found more suitable in some adaptations, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Obviously other minor changes can be made to my invention as herein set forth without altering its spirit and scope, therefore it is desired that it be limited only by the foregoing descriptionand the appended claims.

I claim: v 1. :An appliance for loosening;andltightening jar caps comprising ahollo'w frus'tum-shaped member having exterior projections and a plurality of longitudinally extending-slots the edges ofwhich are bent inwardly to constitute contact elements adapted to grip the cap.

jar caps comprising a hollow frustum-shaped member presenting a conical wall and having exterioi' projections and a plurality of slots disposed longitudinally of the conical wall the edges of whichslots are;' bent inwardly toc'onstitutexcon- -tactelement's adapted t'o'grip the cap. M L" A hand tooli-for'loosening ahd tightening jar caps comprising a: hollow frustum-s'haped memher the 'upp'erT-endof which is rounded-to fit the hollow of the hand "and which is provided with :exterior projections and with a plurality ofslots "the edges "of which are bent inwardly to constitute contact elements'adapted to grip the cap.

1' ALEXANDER 1'IWCD..HESS: v I v REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record inthe 'iJ NITED STATES PATEN' "T's v A Date 

